Apparatus for the carbonization or heat treatment of solid materials



2 Sheets- Sheet 1 ILLINGWORTH Filed April 18, 1955 lfll \mkk

Feb. 16, 1937.

APPARATUS FOR THE CARBONIZATION OR HEAT TREATMENT OF SOLID MATERIALS I Feb. 16, 1937. s. R. ILLINGWORTH 9 L APPARATUS FOR THE CARBONIZATION OH HEAT TREATMENT OF SOLID MATERIALS Filed April 18, 1935, 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 16, 1937 srrss PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR THE CARBONIZATION OR HEAT TREATMENT OF SOLID MATERIALS Application April 18, 1935, Serial No. 17,121

In Great Britain August 17, 1934 u a 3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for the carbonization or heat treatment of solid materials and more particularly to a retort apparatus for use in the low temperature carbonization of 5 ocal and the like.

In my copending application Serial No. 704,011, now Patent 2,039,081, April 28, 1936, I have described apparatus comprising a metal retort member in the form of a tray which is supported from above by means of arms for to and fro rocking movement in the direction of its length, means for imparting endwise movement to the tray in one direction and means for arresting the movement of the tray in the other direction, that is to say, on its return stroke.

Movement may be imparted to the trays, which may conveniently be slung from the roof of the retort setting by means of a series of links, pivotally connected at their ends respectively to brackets in the roof and on the tray, by means of pusher rods adapted to engage one end of the trays and contacting at their other ends with cams which are so shaped as to produce at the end of each forward stroke a sudden release movement of the tray, the return movement of the tray being suddenly arrested by buffers, as described in Patent 2,039,081.

A further feature of the invention of the aforesaid patent consists in the provision of a water or other seal, the purpose of which is to seal off the working parts of the tray retort from the retort gases in order that said working part may work in the cool. In the arrangement therein described the water seal extends entirely around the reciprocating tray and while this arrangement has proved entirely satisfactory in practice it has been found that the sealing of the reciprocating parts can more easily be accomplished in accordance with the present invention by suspending the tray or the box structure on which the corrugated sheets constituting the tray are carried, from a series of vertical supporting arms which extend through apertures orpocketsformed in the retort setting, the entrances to which apertures are themselves sealed from the atmosphere.

' According to the present invention therefore the retort setting is constructed with a central heating chamber and in the side walls of the setting are provided a corresponding series of pockets which at their outer ends communicate with short vertical passages having access to the exterior of the setting.

Mounted above the retort is a metal framework and from this frame is pivotally suspended by means of a series of arms the main frame of the retort which frame is built up of channel sections and is provided with downwardly extending arm members. The arm members extend through the pockets in the brickwork of the setting and are attached at their lower ends to cross beams, to 1 from which the tray or retort proper is suspended.

The tray or retort is accommodated in a recess in the bottom of the setting, the floor of the recess consisting of a series of flue tubes through which the heating gases are passed. The flue tubes may conveniently be of rectangular section and preferably are spaced apart from each other so as to provide gaps in order to permit of greater radiation of heat from the tubes. The flue tubes may conveniently communicate at one end with a common cross flue in which the necessary heating gases are burnt and it will be found preferable to introduce the heat into the fiues at the discharge end of the tray since better results can be obtained by providing a temperature gradient of descending order from the discharge to the charge end of the oven.

According to a further feature of the invention there is combined with the horizontal oven formed by the retort trays of this invention a vertical oven. Such an arrangement enables a better control of the carbonization of the coal or ovoids since the latter can be hardened by treatment on the tray retort and then subjected to further carbonization in the vertical oven.

It will be appreciated also that in certain cases it will be sufficient to cool the ovoids in the vertical oven and in this case the vertical oven may be replaced by a simple cooling chamber.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing a retort setting having a horizontal and vertical oven the former being provided with a water or other seal in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 being a transverse section of the horizontal oven, while Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of part of the horizontal oven being taken as on the line III'III of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse section of the vertical oven.

In the accompanying drawings, I indicates generally the retort setting which is of brickwork or other suitable refractory material. The setting encloses a horizontal heating chamber or oven 6|, within which the material is subjected to heat treatment during passage therethrough on a retort tray 65. Coal or other material to be carbonized or otherwise treated in the oven is supplied from a hopper, (not shown) from which it passes under gravity to a feed chute 84 for discharge on to the retort tray 65. The tray 65 is supported for endwise to and fro movement within the retort chamber GI as hereinafter described. The actuating mechanism for the tray comprises a pusher rod 23 operated by a driving cam 35 while a buffer or stop 24 is provided to arrest suddenly the return movement of the tray after displacement by the rod 23.

The cams are mounted upon shafts 38 having pulley wheels 39 which are driven at a speed in timed relationship with the discharge and charging mechanisms. 7

The bearings for the shafts 38 are carried upon a framework or superstructure indicated generally at 40, on the verticals 32 of which the buffers are mounted. The superstructure, it will be noted,-

extends above the top of the retort chamber BI and from it the retort tray 65 is suspended as hereinafter described.

The foregoing parts are constructed substantially in accordance with the disclosure in Patent 2,039,081, and per se do not constitute any part of the present invention.

The moving part of the retort of the present invention includes a main frame I02, of which the longitudinals consist of two channel girders I02. This main frame is supported for to and fro movement by means of links l5, the links I5 being piv- -otally connected at their upper ends at 11 to the superstructure and connected at their lower ends to lugs 16' on the longitudinal girders.

It will be observed that the main frame is mounted outside the retort so that it operates in the cold. Within the retort, and therefore subject to the heat of the gases, is a sub-frame consisting of short vertical posts I93 rigid with the main frame longitudinals I02, and joined at their lower ends to pairs of cross beams formed of angle irons IE4 which extend transversely through the retort chamber 6| and from which the retort trays 65 are slung by means of stirrups I05.

In the side walls of the retort setting which are extended beyond the arched roof are outwardly extending corresponding pairs of pockets I86, of considerable depth and which at their outer ends terminate in upwardly extending pockets I07, the size of these pockets beingsufficient to accommodate the swinging movements of the posts I93 and cross beams I04.

The links I5 by means of which the retort trays and its frames are suspended for pivotal movement are pivotally connected at their lower ends to pivots It on the main frame girders and at their upper ends are hung from cross beams 18 of the retort superstructure.

Secured to the underside of the main frame girders are inverted cups I68, which depend into annular cups I89 mounted on the masonry of the retort setting and in which is contained the water or other seal.

A feature of this construction of oven is its accessibility and easy renewal of wearing parts and it is to be noted in this connection that the top walls of the pockets are arched as indicated at IID to enable the brickwork to be removed without disturbing the coursing and thereby to permit of the cross beams Hi4 to be Withdrawn endwise through the pockets. With the same object the vertical limbs of the stirrup pieces supporting the trays are formed with T-shaped ends III which overhang the cross beams I04; thus a tray can be removed from the oven for the v a purpose of replacement or repair simply by moving the two cross beams I04 sideways until the stirrups can be dropped and then the entire retort tray can be withdrawn longitudinally involving only the removal of the lip 84' of the feed chute.

The oven chamber GI with the retort setting is provided with an arched roof H2, and it is recessed at the bottom to accommodate a series of longitudinally extending heating flues II3 which at one end communicate with an inlet flue I I4 and at their other end with an outlet flue I I5 leading to the stack.

It is to be noted that gaps IIIi are provided between adjacent flues in order to increase the heat radiation and thereby the rate of heating of the trays.

It will be found preferable to introduce the heat into the flues I I3 at the discharge end of the tray since experience has shown that when making ovoids in carbonized form a better product will result by having a temperature gradient of descending order from the discharge to the charge end.

In the arrangement shown the flues II3 are heated by gases from the vertical retort, but it will be obvious that if the vertical retort is eliminated the flue H4 can be used as a combustion chamber common to the flues I I3.

The'feed mechanism to the retort is not shown and comprises a storage hopper from which the material passes into a feed hopper provided with a water seal and thence into the chute B4 in which is provided a spider or rake feed for controlling the rate of feed to the retort, this feed being in driving connection with the discharge mechanism from the retort so that the Whole can be controlled in conformity with the desired rate of travel through the horizontal oven.

It will be found preferable to work the tray at a speed in conformity with its natural swing since in this case the energy required to reciprocate the tray is a minimum and for this purpose also the position of the buffer 24 is preferably adjustable.

A temperature difference of about 50-60 C. between the discharge and charge ends will be found suitable. Operating with temperatures of about 580 C. at the discharge end will eliminate all pitch from the ovoids and the volatile matters in the product will be reduced to about 10% in under one hour. At this stage the ovoid, since all its caking properties have been destroyed, can now be subjected to further heat treatment in a vertical oven or as an alternative it may be allowed to cool in the vertical oven (or a. simple cooling chamber) during which time it will harden. It will be appreciated that the association of a vertical with a horizontal oven enables a large range in products to be obtained. It is possible to produce a high temperature solid of pronounced superiority over ordinary high temperature products and any tendency of the product to graphitization is eliminated, since the hydrocarbons have been driven off during the treatment at lower temperatures.

It is thought that the provision of a vertical oven will minimize the cost of production since carbonization of the material can be carried out to any desired temperature by reason of the fact that the ovoids have previously been. hardened on the tray retort.

In practice it will be found desirable to provide a vertical oven having a volume capacity of about two and a half times as great as that of the tray retort when the latter is loaded to 10 lbs. per square foot of charge.

The vertical oven may be of usual Illingworth construction and the product therefrom discharges through suitable chutes on to a moving belt conveyor indicated generally at 1.

As described above the heating flues H4, H5, H6 may be provided in the dividing walls of the retort setting, the fines being out of direct contact with the respective retort chambers which are rendered gas-tight to enable the products of carbonization to be withdrawn through a suitable off-take in the usual manner. If desired the heating flues may consist of metal tubes for the circulation of heating gases.

The heating system may be operated upon the principle described in my British Patent No. 350,960 wherein the gases passing through one series of flues are boosted to the temperature required for circulation in the next series of fines. It Will be obvious also that if the retort is to be used only for drying purposes the gases may be circulated in direct contact with the material so that the flues may be dispensed with.

What I claim is:-

1. Retort apparatus suitable for the carbonization and heat treatment of coal and other shaped fuels prepared therefrom, comprising a retort setting having a central heating chamber having a roof, side-walls extending horizontally from the side-edges of the roof, a series of horizontal pockets extending from the heating chamber within said side-walls, and vertical passages formed through said side-walls beyond the roof and communicating with said horizontal pockets, a super-structure located above the roof of the furnace, a horizontal retort tray and means for swingingly supporting it in said heating chamber comprising horizontal girders pivotally supported by a series of links which in turn are pivotally connected at their upper ends to said superstructure, said girders and pivoted links and their pivotal connections being wholly outside of the furnace walls for movement longitudinally to the furnace, pairs of cross-beams extending across the heating chamber and having their ends projecting into said horizontal pockets, said projecting ends being connected to the said girders by vertical posts extending through said vertical passages and having their upper ends rigidly connected to said movable longitudinal girders, a water-seal located around said vertical posts, and links suspended from said pairs of cross-beams for supporting the retort trays.

2. Retort apparatus suitable for the carbonization and heat treatment of coal and other shaped fuels prepared therefrom, comprising a retort setting having a central heating chamber having an arched roof, side-walls extending horizontally from the side-edges of the arched roof, a series of horizontal pockets extending from the heating chamber within said side-walls, and vertical passages formed through said side-walls beyond the arched roof and communicating with said horizontal pockets, a super-structure 1ocated above the roof of the furnace, horizontal girder structures extending longitudinally of the furnace at each side thereof, a horizontal retort tray, a plurality of rigid U-shaped supporting means for said tray extending through the heating chamber and rigidly connected at their ends to said horizontal girder structures, the end portions of the U-shaped supporting means extending through said horizontal pockets and the vertical passages in the side-walls, links having their ends pivotally connected to said horizontal girder structures and super-structure respectively, said girders, links and their connections being wholly located outside of the furnace walls, a water-seal between the furnace walls and the upper ends of the Ushaped supporting means, and suspending links supporting said retort tray from said U-shaped supporting frame.

3. Retort apparatus suitable for the carbonizetion and heat treatment of coal and other shaped fuels prepared therefrom, comprising a retort setting having a central heating chamber having an arched roof, side-walls extending horizontally from the side-edges of the arched roof, a series of horizontal pockets extending from the heating chamber a considerable depth within said sidewalls, and vertical passages formed through said side-walls beyond the arched roof and communicating with said horizontal pockets, a superstructure located above the roof of the furnace, horizontal girders extending longitudinally of the furnace at each side thereof, a horizontal retort tray, a plurality of rigid U-shaped supporting means for said tray extending through the heating chamber and. rigidly connected at their ends to said horizontal girders, the end portions of the U-shaped supporting means extending through said horizontal pockets and the vertical passages in the side-walls, links having their ends pivotally connected to said horizontal girders and super-structure respectively, said girders, links and their connections being wholly located outside of the furnace walls, a water-seal between the furnace walls and the upper ends of the U-shaped supporting means, and suspending links supporting said retort tray from said U- shaped supporting frame.

STEWART ROY ILLINGWORTH. 

